Browns-Ravens matchups

Saturday

Sep 29, 2007 at 12:01 AMSep 29, 2007 at 3:53 PM

A look at the Browns' game against the Ravens Sunday

Steve Doerschuk

Bottom line, up high

Figure this one out: Baltimore abuses Pittsburgh. The Ravens have won four of the last six, including blowouts of 30-13, 27-0 and 31-7. The Steelers punish the Browns. Yet the Ravens struggle at Cleveland. The Browns won the 2004 season opener and 2005 season finale at home, and Baltimore needed a moon-shot Matt Stover field goal to win, 15-14, in 2006. Maybe they feel guilty about abandoning Cleveland after the 1995 season. This has become a good little rivalry, stoked by the dirty history of The Move.

Featured matchup

Ray Lewis vs. Jamal Lewis: Linebacker Ray Lewis was a Raven for four years before he tasted a winning season. It happened when running back Jamal Lewis came aboard as a rookie No. 5 overall pick in 2000. They won a Super Bowl together. Now, they’re playing like their old selves, in enemy camps, on a collision course. Ray Lewis leads Baltimore with 31 tackles and is flying to the ball. Jamal Lewis ran 216 yards against the Bengals. Ray Lewis operates behind prime run stuffers Haloti Ngata and Kelly Gregg. Jamal Lewis runs behind Joe Thomas and Eric Steinbach, which could bloom into a great left side. Same old Browns running game or new juice with Jamal Lewis? Given the Ray Lewis challenge, the answer is only a day away.

Other key matchups

Matt Stover vs. Phil Dawson: One of these Dallas Lake Highlands High School grads could win the game -- Stover did on a 52-yard field goal last September. When Lou “The Toe” Groza retired having played only for the Browns, he owned the NFL scoring record at 1,349 points. Stover, whose points have come only with the Browns and Ravens, has scored 1,745 points, fifth all-time at this point. The last “original Brown” still with Baltimore, Stover has killed the expansion Browns, going 38-of-41 on field goal tries. Last Sunday, Dawson had a game-deciding kick blocked at Oakland. Stover beat Arizona with a 46-yard field goal as time expired.

Ravens pass rush vs. Derek Anderson: Red-hot against Cincinnati, Anderson got rattled on the road. Now he must make quick, poised decisions against a defense that is to the Bengals what the Yankees are to the Royals. Anderson catches a break because Trevor Pryce -- 3 1/2 sacks against Charlie Frye last year -- is out with a broken wrist. Pryce’s replacement is Anderson’s former Oregon State teammate, Dwan Edwards. The Ravens miss Adalius Thomas and aren’t blitzing much. That could be a mirage. Outside linebackers Bart Scott and Terrell Suggs remain dangerous men.

Browns front seven vs. Willis McGahee: The Browns are yielding an embarrassing 176.3 rushing yards a game, with at least 100 each to Willie Parker, Rudi Johnson and LaMont Jordan. McGahee is a mixture of the three, combing power, speed and moves. It would help the Browns if inside run defenders Ted Washington and Andra Davis played better, but it’s not clear they can. Inside linebacker Leon Williams’ playing time is likely to increase.

Yamon Figurs vs. Joshua Cribbs: Baltimore’s Figurs leads the league in kick return average at 38.3. Cribbs is fourth at 35.0. Figurs, a former Florida high school sprinting champion, is a rookie but is actually five months older than Cribbs, a third-year pro. Figurs is faster. Cribbs is wiser. “Timing is everything,” Cribbs said, “knowing when to hit it and when not to.”